HappyHumber wrote:thanks Les.. the bits are falling into place. I've never ran batteries in parallel before - so that's why it probably didn't occur to me. I think I'll start poking around for bits.

I'm sure I'll be back with more questions before too long.

cheers

Kym

I got all my bits from DealextremeTorches - Ive used these and this for highbeamBatteries - 18650Charger -[url=http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.1251]Ultrafire
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The quality of thes stuff is quite good, not top shelf. Torches have variable tint and brightness from torch to torch. Batteries claim 2400mA but probably 2200mA or even slightly less. Having said that, I run two on the h/bars and 2 on the helmet and the Highbeam on the stem and I'm very happy with the set up.. The other night, I was riding towards a 4WD and the tosser turned on his highbeam and spotties, I only had the 2 on the h/bars on at the time, so I turned on my highs and the 2 helmet which I set to strobe. Needless to say he dimmed his very quickly.

My 1W Luxeon LED based light does OK but I've been riding in the dark recently and wouldn't mind something that really lit up the path.

I ordered them last week and received notification an hour ago that they have been dispatched. They should be here next week some time.

Les, where did you get the magnetic spacers you showed me? I've ordered three torches with the intention of mounting up two with external batteries and keeping the third intact. That means I'll need to use spacers on the 18650 batteries I use in it.

One more question for you Les: I was planning to make up a battery pack where the 18650s are in series, but I see you've gone parallel. The in-series construction should give me a brighter light, but what will that do to run time?

Cheers,
Graeme

Think outside the double triangle.---------------------Music was better when ugly people were allowed to make it ....

Kalgrm wrote:One more question for you Les: I was planning to make up a battery pack where the 18650s are in series, but I see you've gone parallel. The in-series construction should give me a brighter light, but what will that do to run time?

Cheers,Graeme

If my high school physics serves me right I'm sure your run time remains the same but your voltage goes up. So if you need to increase your run time and the volts then you need to have a pair of 2 in series paralleled. Hmmmm, thats clear as mud Any leccies out there confirm?

Sorry, spacers I used were these but wait till you get the torches first you may not need spacers.

The latest twin Cree Ayup light units probably put out 400-450 lumens. 700 lumens might be a bit of an exaggeration. Lens angle and design is more critical with lower outputs. With 700 lumens not so much, but you'd be wanting a 50% setting on it at least!

The latest twin Cree Ayup light units probably put out 400-450 lumens. 700 lumens might be a bit of an exaggeration. Lens angle and design is more critical with lower outputs. With 700 lumens not so much, but you'd be wanting a 50% setting on it at least!

Oh.. probably dealextreme - I haven't searched around much otherwise. Are we thinking a group buy? Nimm (Jason?) was making some similar noises too, earlier wasn't he? If we're all from Perth - if we agree on a common couple of torches - the 3+ discount could be good.

After testing the highbeamer over the last few nights I really can't recommend them for extended run times. They are good for about 45 minutes on the 2 battery pack then you've got the same amount of light as a Cree Q5 for the next hour or so. I am led to believe that it sucks over 2amps. I'm getting most of my education from Candlepower.

I wouldn't count on a big discount from Dealextreme for the 3+ buys. They may be cheap but they can be a little slow. Remember all their prices include shipping. Another site thats similar to Deals is Kaidomain but they don't rate very highly by those at candlepower.

I just recieved this torch from Deals Extreme.....WOW it is bright. This is the brightest LED I've seen by far, I work in Interior Architecture and have seen alot of useless LED's. I am very happy with the torch.

I may have to try the Eclipse battery pack as well, but not knowing anything about electronics I will have to wait for the tutorial

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